The U.S. Military Academy in concert with the 82nd Airborne Division Association of New Hartford and the Greater Hartford Lt. Gen. James Gavin Chapter commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the legacy of Gavin with a wreath-laying ceremony at Gavin's gravesite on June 6 at the West Point Cemetery.

A 1929 graduate of West Point, Gavin was the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. Referred by his nickname, "The Jumping General" or "Jumpin' Jim," he was a part of the parachute combat assault conducted on June 6, 1944, as part of the American airborne landings in Normandy, France.